Hearthstone ups the ante (literally) with the pricey Heroic Brawliseum Tavern Brawl [Wild]

This week’s Hearthstone Tavern Brawl, Heroic Brawliseum [Wild], is a strange amalgamation of the Arena and the Ladder. Like Arena, this Brawl has an entry fee and a “three strikes and you’re out” mechanic that finishes your run as soon as you loose three matches. Unlike Arena, there’s no draft, which means you’re going to have to craft your own deck in order to play. That makes this week’s Brawl both a challenging experience and an expensive way to play — because it costs either 1000 Runestones (about $10) or 1000 gold to enter the Brawliseum.

Fortunately, even if you don’t play this, you can still get a free pack this week. You should see a Legendary Quest called “Call of the Brawl” which will provide a pack for playing 1 game of any mode.

But if you’re willing to pay for this Tavern Brawl, you can earn some nice rewards. So let’s dig into how to win the Heroic Brawliseum Tavern Brawl.

Tavern Brawl basics

• Name: Heroic Brawliseum
• Description: Make a Wild deck to compete with the best! Stakes are high, the competition is intense. More wins means more rewards. Can you make it to 12 wins, or will 3 losses end your run?
• Fun level: 3/10
• Difficulty: 10/10
• Replayability: 3/10
• Format: Wild
• Type: PVP
• Deck: Constructed
• Rewards: Varies based upon how much you win

Step one to playing this week’s brawl to get your wallet. The entry fee is either 1000 Runestones ($10) or 1000 in-game gold — that’s significantly pricier than an Arena run, but the rewards are potentially better as well — if you win. Once you’ve paid your entry fee, you’ll need to build a Wild deck before starting your first game. The game itself it plays out exactly like a normal match — use your awesome cards and bring your opponent’s life total to zero.

You continue your run by playing additional games until you experience the thrill of 12 victories or the agony of three defeats, whichever comes first. Fortunately you can stop between games and come back later to continue your run, so you don’t need to have a marathon play session to win. Every victory increases the difficulty of your next opponent. If you have four wins, you’re matched up against other players who also have four wins.

But each victory also upgrades the chest your get at the end of your run. Here’s a handy dandy chart of the winnings:

Can you win enough to make the entry fee worth it? If we assume 1 pack equals 100 gold, the the break even point is somewhere around 7 or 8 wins depending on how you want to value the Arcane Dust into your equation.

How to win the Heroic Brawliseum Tavern Brawl [Wild]

Most Constructed Brawls fall into their own meta, but with this Brawl, the Brawl meta is the Wild Ladder meta. You’ll see the same decks that dominate on the Ladder — so if you play much Wild ranked Hearthstone, this Brawl will be very familiar. Like most Constructed Brawls, the key to winning is building a good deck and piloting it well.

With the high $10 admission fee to this Brawl, if you’re not familiar with the Hearthstone meta, or don’t have a large card collection, I strongly recommend you skip this Brawl. And even if you are familiar with the Wild meta, stick to proven decks: this isn’t the time to try something new or off meta. Stick to the tried and true decks, and think about consistency over big plays. Survive and advance should be your mindset.

Here are five decks that have high win rates on the Wild Ladder and should serve you well in the Heroic Brawliseum Tavern Brawl. All four of these are consider “tier 1” decks, the “best” Wild decks you can play.

Top Wild Decks for Heroic Brawliseum

It’s Valeera’s world, and we’re just living in it. Three of four tier 1 decks are Rogue decks.

Pack Miracle Rogue

• Deck code:

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• This deck tries to play as many cards as it can in a single turn. Once you reach a critical mass of spells cast, you can dominate the board with discounted Arcane Giants and Breakdance. You’ll be way better than Raygun. Twisted Pack is an MVP of this deck. That gives you enough “cards from other classes” to enable 0 mana Wildpaw Gnolls and Obsidian Shards.

Pirate Demon Hunter

• Deck code:

  AAEBAea5AwTHpAb8wAaRvALEuAYN5OQF1cEG17oGhI0E8skDoL0C/KgG2MAG6bAD1sAGrcUGq+IE9sAGAA==

• Perils in Paradise brought in a whole new crew singing “Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me.” You’ve got Patches the Pilot, Sigil of Skydiving, Adrenaline Fiend, Paraglide, and Dangerous Cliffside. Even a Neutral like Hozen Roughhouser fits well into this deck. The basic game plan is to flood the board and pressure your opponent’s face. This is a classic aggro deck. Kill them before they can kill you. Pirate Demon Hunter has a good amount of Charge minions meaning you can get lethal even from an empty board.

Garrote Rogue

• Deck code:

  AAEBAaIHBMygBYrJBJG8AsjABg31uwL3nwT2nwStpwa/9wXXowXz3QOqywP8qAaO9APpsAPungb8pQYA

• Garrote Rogue is a combo deck. The titular Garrote card shuffles Bleeds into your deck. Quick Pick, Toy Boat, or Gear Shift draw the Bleeds for you. When buffed by Street Trickster, you’re looking at 32 damage from the two copies of Garrote. Use Shadow of Demise to get yet another copy of Garrote to up the potential damage to 48. You’ve got a similar Pirate package to Pirate Rogue to contest the board long enough for you to execute the combo.

Pirate Rogue

• Deck code:

  AAEBAaIHBMekBpG8AtOyBerEBg2MAorJBL/3BdejBfPdA6rLA8n0BvyoBumwA/sP/KUGmtsE1p4GAA==

• Pirate Rogue is another aggressive deck, similar to Pirate Demon Hunter. Toy Boat keeps your hand filled while Ship’s Cannon puts pressure on your opponent’s board and their face. Let’s be honest, it will mostly be their face. There’s some combo potential as well. For instance, buff your Wndfury and Cold Blood to a minion on the board. You could also buff a Southsea Deckhand and use his Charge right away. Of the four decks featured here, this might be weakest, but it’s still a tier 1 deck.

Are you feeling lucky?

If your main use of Tavern Brawls is to enjoy a rollicking good time where the size of your card collection may not matter much, the only winning play this week might be to not play. If you’re going to play, I’d suggest playing early in the week — Wednesday or Thursday — when you still have people trying out the Brawl. Later in the week, it will likely be serious players only.

If you’re just looking for your pack, remember the “Call of the Brawl” quest. You can play Casual, Ranked, or even Battlegrounds to earn your win — and your free pack.

If you’re consistently hitting high ranks on the Wild Ladder and are confident in your abilities, there are some fantastic prizes to be had. Best of luck to you if you choose to venture in!

Originally published September 23, 2020; last updated August 21, 2024